It's HOT

Alissa's Baptism!!!

Well my Dear Family,

Let me just say. It's hot in Greeley.  It's been consistently over 100.  I know, I know all you Vegasites are saying I'm a wimp.  Well when you spend 9 months in Cheyenne, and part of it is in the winter, you acclimatize (if that's a word.)  I'm burning up!  But so is the work, so that's awesome!

Last Monday, I didn't email about it because I didn't know how it would turn out, we got a text from HQ saying a girl named Kelsey Murray who goes to UNC requested a Book of Mormon on mormon.org.  We called her late last Monday and set up an appt to meet with her at the Institute on Tuesday (when I would be with Elder Washburn!)  She sounded excited and interested.  So, we get there and she was waiting for us, (we also brought a member who was baptized last fall and had started investigating because he requested a Book of Mormon on mormon.org--sweet coincidence--not) which was cool. We start talking to her and she tells us that she had a lot of Mormon friends growing up, and she has been looking into the church for years (probably been on 90% of the pages on mormon.org) but had a rough summer, and she is now ready to join the church.  WHOA!  Come again?!  We then taught the restoration of the gospel, and we talked about praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true and feeling the Holy Ghost. We asked her if she had done so, and she said she had!  WHAT?! Then we invited her to be baptized and she said yes!  Then we invited her to be baptized on July 14th and she said yes!  Can you believe that?  So then we set up appointments with her for the next two days and taught her the plan of salvation, the word of wisdom, law of chastity, following the prophet, and studying the scriptures.  She loves all of it.  On top of it, her family is super supportive: she already told her mom, and this weekend she went to Castle Rock (where her dad lives) and he took her to church!  I can't believe the tender mercies of the Lord. She's amazingly ready, and already has a testimony.  It's incredible!

So on another good note, we got to teach Kaleb Cook again, and we are working on getting fellowship for him, but he committed to be baptized on July 28th!

We taught Gary this week at the Searles' house (an awesome family in the ward) and we taught the word of wisdom and he's working on quitting smoking.  We then talked about baptism and he committed to be baptized on July 28th!  He's ready to make this change as well.

I cannot believe how amazing the blessings and tender mercies of the Lord have been. Greeley is amazing, and I am loving the Lord's watchful and merciful arm.

Alissa's baptism was great.  Two of her kids, with the help of Bro Myers (her friend), gave the talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost.  It was awesome to see that, and I know they will be blessed for their valiance and noble ways--they will someday be able to be baptized.  I know that with all my heart.  Alissa was then baptized and as she was, I just got a familiar warm feeling as she went down into the water and came back up.  It was amazing to see such a prepared person finally receive the blessings of their honest seeking.  I feel like I didn't do anything to receive this blessing of being a part of their lives and conversion, but it's amazing to see such a miracle happen anyway.  Elder Stanger then sang "Be still my soul" with his guitar for a special musical number.  It was just a great baptism.

Today I was reminded of a great truth that is so important to remember.  I was reading the introduction, title page, and testimonies of the 3 and 8 witnesses, and I was reminded of the rudimentary, powerful truth that the missionary handbook states so simply:  "How great is your calling!"  In the testimony of 8 witnesses, they declare:  "And we give our names unto the world, to WITNESS UNTO THE WORLD that which we have seen. AND WE LIE NOT, God bearing witness of it."  This is my calling as an ordained, set apart minister and representative of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I wear His name, but more deeply and rooted than that is a covenant that I have taken on to take upon me His name.  More than wearing His name, I bear His name.  There is no greater honor, privelege, or responsibility than this.  I bear the name and calling of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, and Creator.  How GREAT is my calling, and how GREAT is yours!  I am eternally indebted to Him, and I am and will be forever grateful for the opportunity to do what He would do, and to act as He would.  Let us never forget who it is that we represent. Missionary or not, we are disciples of Him who is mighty to save.  I love him eternally. I love you so much. 

Love,
Elder Logan Bryan

Elder Stanger, Alissa and her children, Brother Myers, and Me

FIRE!!!!

So yes, this month has been one of natural disasters.  A tornado a couple weeks ago, and now, a fire!  It's been going on just west of Fort Collins, and hasn't been contained very much.  There have been many homes evacuated, and even one death (I heard it was a stubborn old lady who wouldn't leave her house. Sad.)  So this week we did some tracting for hygiene kits for those that have been evacuated from their homes.  This week was also great as far as the work went.

 

So first of all, on Monday we had set up an appointment to get to know a part-member family named the Pritchards who remind me a lot of the Deans back home.  The dad races in trucks and dune buggies and stuff, and the kids are all super fun and awesome.  Their 9 year old twins want to be baptized, and so on Monday we got to know them a little bit and talked to them about the Book of Mormon.  We also have an appointment with them today, and we're hoping to be able to get them to work towards becoming active and getting baptized!  It's awesome!

 

Next, Alissa is going to be baptized this Saturday!  It's going to be great.  Bro. Meyers is going to baptize her, and a lot of his family is coming into town to see it. She is just so ready to do this.  It will be something that will bless her life forever.  Not only her life, but the life of her children and many more people.  We are teaching her tonight, and then she will be having a baptismal interview in the next couple of days or so.  It's amazing to see such a prepared soul.

 

We got a referral from Mormon.org this week for a man named Gary Stinson.  He wanted a Book of Mormon, and so Elder Ellsworth and Elder Stanger were on exchanges and gave it to him and set up an appointment with him for Friday. We went over on Friday, and started talking to him.  He says he is tired of making decisions in life all on his own and screwing up. He needs God and is ready to change.  We did "How to begin teaching" with him from Chapter 10 of PMG, and while doing that he committed to be baptized!  Tender Mercy.  We then gave him a church tour the next day with a member, and then he came to church yesterday!  It was awesome.

 

All in all, the Greeley Zone and Elder Stanger and I are loving the work and working our hardest.  It's amazing to see what the Lord blesses you with just because He loves you and wants his children to be happy.  I love Him so much, and He truly loves us.  There is no greater knowledge than knowing the almighty God loves you personally, by name, and is truly involved and interested in your life.  Tell him about it.  He cares.  I love you all. 

Love,

Elder Logan Bryan

Tornado!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yes this week Greeley was in a tornado warning. Thursday night was the big event. There was supposed to be a tornado watch (not as bad as a warning) until 9pm that night. Well we got home and 9:30 rolls around, the wind started picking up, and lightning was going crazy outside. We got a call from one of the elders that lives in town and he told us that we had a tornado warning now, not just a watch. So we started freaking out, and we packed up food and water and clothes and went to the concrete basement where the Spanish elders live. We chilled there for a while until it was pretty apparent that we weren't going to get hit by this tornado. It did touch down in the town of Nunn, which is pretty far north of us, but we went to Ault and Eaton on Friday, and the wind stripped the trees, the crops, and the hail did a lot of damage too. Crazy! I was actually really hoping I'd get to see a real tornado! Oh well.

So as far as the work went this week, it was great. Monday we taught Alissa Snyder. She is so completely golden, it's amazing. Bro. Meyers has been fellowshipping her a ton since October. They go down to the temple grounds frequently and talk about gospel-related things. She's pretty much been taught everything, and we just have to teach her the lessons as a formality. She is set to be baptized on June 23rd. It's amazing! Her children, she has two that are baptizing age, can't be baptized because recently she went through a divorce and her ex-husband is pretty anti. That is pretty sad because her kids are amazing and super attentive. One is 11 and one is 8 I think. They're such great kids. We're teaching her again tomorrow!

We also taught Caleb Alipio on Monday, and it turned into a bash session. He told us in preparation he had done some research, and began the conversation by saying, "How can you be part of a church that is and has done so much bad?"  Well, we went into a conversation freckled with points of anti materials, testimonies, and relatively un-heated arguments. It wasn't very productive. We ended by bearing our testimonies and asking him to do research in a way that finds good things about the church, and reading the Book of Mormon, and we would come back on Wednesday and hopefully have more to talk about. He said ok.  We left on good terms, and then that night he texted us and told us that both he and we were set in our beliefs and wouldn't really budge, so he cancelled our meeting on Wednesday and basically dropped us.

Kaleb Cook has fallen off the map and hasn't kept any appointments or come to church at all. We have another investigator right now in Peakview named Brodie. I'll tell you more about him next week probably when there is more to tell about the story. We've been trying to figure some things out with him, and he wants to be baptized, we just have to work out some details. So things all in all, are doing pretty great, and the work is amazing!

We had a stake priesthood meeting yesterday, and it was all about getting people on missions. It was fairly good, and at the end, the stake president had Elder Stanger and I get up there and bear our testimonies of how the mission has blessed our lives. It was unexpected, but I appreciated the opportunity to bear testimony of the miracle of a mission. IT truly is amazing. You learn more of, and about, and through Christ than you ever would before. Being His authorized representative teaches me more about love, about kindness, about perfection than anything else.  Moroni 10:32-33--Come unto Christ. There is no better way--there is no other way to find joy, or peace, or happiness. I love being in his service!

Love,

Elder Logan Bryan

Greeley Week 2

Hey Family!

This week there isn't a whole ton to report on. It was a week full of all kinds of administrative stuff, which can be so much more tiring and so much less fulfilling than missionary work. I guess it is missionary work, but it doesn't feel like it. I'll give you some updates on the work:

1) The Schumans are being taught by the missionaries from the ward they live in. They should be doing well, and I hope they continue progressing and gaining testimonies.

2) Alissa didn't make it to church on Sunday, but we are meeting with her today and hopefully it will go really well. I think she'll be super receptive and ready to be baptized.

3) We didn't get to teach anyone in the University ward this week, but we set up appointments with both Calebs (actually I think one is spelled Kaleb) this week.

4) All in all, this week was a week of setting up appointments and getting ready for this week. It's kind of discouraging when you have a week like that, but we're going to have a great week this week.

5) Cool experience of the week: We were in a meeting for Peakview ward yesterday before church, and we had a little bit of time in between church and the meeting. So we went tracting in a neighborhood right next to the church. We were "spirit-guided" (tried to focus on where the Spirit was telling us to go) to a street and we knocked the first door...nobody was home. Knocked the second one...it was a guy whose best friend was a Mormon and he is set in his church. Knocked the fourth one because we skipped the third because the lady and kids went inside the garage and shut the door. Nobody was home. Then we felt like we should go back and knock the house with the lady that went into the garage. We did, and she answered. She said that she had been on a 17 year mission to the Lakota Indians and helping people find God. We talked to her and in the beginning she said that she was good with what she believed (kind of closing us off). We talked for a while and we really felt like she needed to be invited to look into our church.  We testified and invited her too, and she lit up a little bit. She said she had never been invited before, but she wants her children and grandchildren to be able to follow in Christ's footsteps. We took down her number and she has ours and we should be able to meet with her and her husband sometime in the next couple of weeks. She said she has known Mormons and has always been impressed with their outlook on life, and their perspective. Her name is Lucy Bighead (her husband is Lakota and that's his tribal name). It was a way cool experience to be guided on a doorstep to do what we need, to help children of God to come closer to Him. Awesome!

Well I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon. Work is going well and this upcoming week is going to be awesome!

Love you,

Elder Logan Bryan